Canadian Corey Conners talks Paris Olympics after shooting Sunday 68

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TROON, Scotland — The next time Corey Conners tees it up, the Canadian will be playing for a gold medal.

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On Sunday, Conners finished up competition at the Open Championship in Scotland with a three-under round of 68. It was a round that helped take some of the sting out of a wet and soggy Saturday round of 80 that ended his Claret Jug dreams.

After a quick stop home to pick up wife Malory, the Conners will head to Paris where Corey will join Nick Taylor, Brooke Henderson, and Alena Sharp representing Canada in golf.

“There are three medals available,” he said after his final round at Royal Troon.

Yes, that’s certainly something of an oddity for a professional golfer who spends his life gunning for No. 1.

“It would be a huge honour,” Conners said of winning a medal. “I grew up watching the Olympics and seeing what it means to win a medal is really special. I’ll be doing my best to make that happen.”

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Conners said he and Taylor have been in frequent communication about the Games since the pair was officially named in June, following the U.S. Open.

“We were staying together that week,” he said. “We chatted about it. It’ll be a lot of fun. We’re both going over a little bit early to do the opening ceremony and going to do some other events. I’m the travel agent, and got us the tickets and the hotel room; got us organized, so hopefully it all goes well.”

The 32-year-old Conners says his strongest Olympic memory is watching Sidney Crosby score Canada’s golden goal at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Like many Canadians, the Listowel, Ont. native has more memories from the Winter Games, but said he gets excited to watch swimming events and the 100-metre sprint in the summer.

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The men’s golf tournament begins Aug. 1 and is a four-day stroke play event, exactly like most weeks on the PGA Tour. It will be held at Le Golf National course in Paris, which hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018 as well as an annual event on Europe’s DP World Tour.

Conners hasn’t played the course, but has had some experience with its risk-reward design in the comforts of his house.

“I have it on the simulator in the basement back home,” Conners said. “So, I will maybe get a couple of rounds in when I get back. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, it’s a staple on the European Tour and obviously had the Ryder Cup. A lot of guys speak highly about it.”

As for Paris itself, Corey and wife Malory previously visited the City of Light in 2020 before Conners made his Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games.

“Funny enough, before the last Olympics, after The Open, we stayed over and went to Paris,” he said. “I thought it was amazing. We toured around a lot and had some fantastic food, the tours were cool, historic scenery and monuments. It was a great experience going there. I’m looking forward to going back.”

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